


Two Ghosts

by lightrock105



Series: A Miraculous World [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Depressing, Gen, POV Third Person, Reveal, Sad Ending, Sorry Not Sorry, Whump, post-reveal, slightly aged up characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:47:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25477903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightrock105/pseuds/lightrock105
Summary: Chat Noir sees who Ladybug really is.My (very depressing) take on the reveal. Read at your own risk.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Plagg, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Tikki
Series: A Miraculous World [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1863928
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44





	Two Ghosts

**Author's Note:**

> Adrien and Marinette are in their last year of high school.
> 
> Just another warning in case you didn't read the tags: major character death, depressing

Ladybug dropped into the alley a few blocks away from her house, knowing she didn't have the time to make it all the way back. As soon as her feet touched the ground, a flash of pink light engulfed her, the Ladybug costume fading away to reveal Marinette. Tikki flew out of her earrings and onto her shoulder, exhausted. Marinette patted her head a few times before she reached into her purse to grab a cookie for her drained friend. With her hand halfway to the Kwami, Marinette finally lifted her head, only to see Chat Noir standing a few feet in front of her, staring at the newly transformed girl. The cookie fell to the ground.

"M-Marinette?" His voice quivered like he was about to cry. She had never told Adrien who she really was, even though Alya and Nino had told him on multiple occasions that the young designer was head over heels for the model. Yet, she never said a single word about who she was moonlighting as, even after they had been very close friends for years.

Chat Noir's face turned from hurt to one of anger and disgust.

"I can't believe you. After all this time, it was _you_ ," he spit out, even though it hurt his heart to say such words.

Marinette started to reach for him, but he ripped his arm away and started to back up.

"No. No, you stay away from me. I never want to see you again. We'll have separate patrols and only ever interact with each other when there is an Akuma." With that, he turned on his heel, vaulted up to a nearby rooftop, and sprinted away.

* * *

As soon as Adrien made it through his window, he dropped his transformation and collapsed on his couch, cursing into his pillow. Plagg made his way to his camembert stash, knowing he was going to need a big piece if he was going to deal with this conversation.

"How _could_ she? I see her every day at school and she has said _nothing_ to me for _years_! Years! She never let anything slip that she was the beloved heroine of the city. You would think she would at least tell her best friends. But _no_."

"To be fair, you never told anyone either. You kept who you are a secret, too. You can't blame pigtails if you did the same exact thing."

"It's completely different, Plagg!" Adrien turned his head to glare at the Kwami, who was floating centimeters away from his face.

"Is it though?" the cat drawled. The boy sneered and attempted to hit Plagg with a pillow, screaming in frustration when it went right through him. Plagg rolled his eyes and decided it was time for a nap, hoping his holder would be in a better mood the next day.

* * *

Adrien glared holes into Marinette's head as she walked through the doorway. She blinked in surprise, not expecting the hostility. Did he finally find out about that time she stole his phone? No, it couldn't be that. Alya _promised_ she would take that secret to the grave. So what could be the problem? Yesterday, they had parted ways in a good mood, talking about an upcoming fashion competition that would be held in a few weeks from then. What had happened in sixteen hours that suddenly made him hate her?

When she sat down, Adrien whipped around to face her, his glare still in place. "Marinette, I personally know Chat Noir-" Marinette had to hide her shock at that. Since when? "And for you not to tell him was cruel and harsh. I don't think I want to be friends with someone like that anymore. I can't be friends with someone who I can't trust."

Marinette felt her heart shatter. She had no one left. Alya was in America until the next year, having to move there when her mother got a job offer she couldn't refuse. Nino had graduated a year early and got accepted to a prestigious music academy in London. Both of her parents were in China visiting her great uncle until the end of the month. Chat Noir hated her, and apparently Adrien did too.

She was all alone. No one was there for her anymore. She had nothing to live for; no one would miss her anyway.

Not saying anything after Adrien's outburst, she hung her head and walked out of the classroom and down the steps of the school, leaving her backpack and not even acknowledging the teachers and staff when they yelled after her. Turning a corner, she transformed into Ladybug and swung her way to the top of the Eiffel Tower where she looked down at all the carefree, happy people below.

No matter, by the time midnight struck, they would all be gone. What's the harm in waiting? It would give her time to perfect her letter.

* * *

Just after midnight, Ladybug changed back into Marinette, having memorized what she was going to write down. She looked sadly down at the tiny red Kwami in her hands.

"I'm sorry Tikki. I'm so sorry, but I told you the first day I met you that I wasn't cut out to be Ladybug. You'll find another one. One less clumsy and foolish. There will always be another Ladybug, but the world doesn't need Marinette anymore."

Digging through her purse, she took out a spare piece of paper and a pen. She scribbled down her note, having to pause a few times to make sure the tears that were threatening to fall didn't actually reach the paper.

_Chat,_

_I'm sorry, so incredibly sorry that I disappointed you. That was the one thing I never wanted to do. The one reason why I never told you who I was. I didn't want you to be disgusted and unhappy that the great and powerful Ladybug, the perfect superhero, was just plain old, clumsy Marinette. I never wanted to see that look in your eyes as you figured out who I was._

_But, since you asked, I'll grant your wish. You'll never have to see me again. I can promise you that._

Rifling through her purse again, she extracted the Miraculous box for her earrings. Tikki, who just finished reading the note, suddenly realized her plan.

"No, don't do th-" but she was cut off when the second earring came out of her ear.

Placing the box on top of the note, Marinette looked down again. No one. She couldn't even hear anyone.

"Mama," she whispered, "Papa, Tikki, I'm sorry." And then she jumped.

* * *

Chat heard the sirens before he saw the lights. Thinking it was another Akuma, he followed the sound. Arriving at the base of the Eiffel Tower, he glanced around in confusion. Where was it? Where was all the destruction? The running and screaming? The demands for the Miraculous jewels? Everything and everyone seemed normal, except for the white sheet covering something on the ground. An officer turned to him.

"Sorry, Chat Noir, but there want nothing you can do to stop this one. It wasn't an Akuma, so I'm afraid you or Ladybug," Chat Noir's heart gave a painful thump, "can't fix this. She jumped."

His heart gave another painful thump, then skipped a beat. Suicide. Someone committed suicide. Although he was never inside those people's heads, he always wondered how he could have changed their minds.

"Do you know who it is-was?" he asked. He wanted to do something for the family. Organize the funeral, pay for it, or just be there for them. He found that the families of suicide victims seemed to suffer the most. They had no one to blame.

The officer said something, but he missed it, too busy thinking of what he could do.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng." This time, his heart completely stopped for a good ten seconds.

"Are-are you sure?" _No. It couldn't be. She would never do this_. The officer nodded.

"Fingerprints confirmed it. Of course, we'll need to contact her parents for a positive identification, but we're sure." He was about to turn away before Chat Noir spoke up again.

"Can I...may I see her?" The officer gave the hero a strange look, but nodded and shooed the coroner away.

Chat Noir advanced slowly, swallowing deeply as he approached the sheet. Carefully, he lifted the white sheet up and nearly hurled at what he saw.

Marinette's body was mangled and bloody. Broken bones and her face was scratched up and bruised. He took a quick glance at her ears. No earrings.

"Excuse me," he called. A different office turned to face him. Chat Noir lowered the sheet and took a deep breath to hold back his tears.

"Were there earrings found on her? Or near her?" She frowned and looked through a few different evidence bags before looking back up at him and shaking her head. Chat Noir stiffened. She knew. She jumped on purpose.

He felt sick to his stomach. He caused this. This was all his fault. He made her jump. He let her die alone. All because, what, he was mad she didn't let him know something he wasn't supposed to know anyway? Because he was a little tense from another argument with his dad? Because the reveal of Ladybug hadn't gone the way he wanted?

He had never felt more selfish in his life.

* * *

Once he read her note, he knew exactly what he had to do.

* * *

After giving both Miraculous back to Master Fu, he climbed, yes climbed _without_ his ring, up the side of the Eiffel Tower, determined to be with his lady again. She had died because of him, so now it was his turn. A good person took their life because he was being unfair and unreasonable. Reaching the top, he looked up at the sky and smiled when one star seemed to wink at him.

"We'll be together again, M'Lady." And then he leaned forward, letting gravity pull him down, not even wishing to keep living if his lady, his partner, his best friend, his better half wouldn't ever come back. No other Ladybug could ever compare to his.

**Author's Note:**

> This had just been sitting in my notes on my phone as I went back and forth deciding if I wanted to publish it or not, but I decided I would just to see how it goes.
> 
> I have about a million more Miraculous one-shots (that are 100% less depressing), so if you want to read those, lemme know!


End file.
